I had expected much more of this film, given the announcement text as published by the festival. On the other hand, some earlier reviews on the festival website carried some warning signs. But I had already booked tickets, so... After all, the negative comments were right to the point, and I can only add extra complaints.
Firstly, the Egg and Stone symbolism is not only prominent in the title, but we see actual eggs and stones appear multiple times. I could not make anything comprehensible out of it, other than eggs standing for new life. But new life was not welcome in this story, so what else could it mean?? And still, what about the stones?? The explanation from the director in the final Q&A only made it worse. She “explained” (mind the quotes) that eggs are soft and stones are hard, and that our experiences while growing make us soft or hard. But whatever you become, it is life anyway.
Secondly, the unknown father of the unborn child could not be derived from any clue offered to us. In the final Q&A we heard from the director that it was “obvious” (mind the quotes, again) that the uncle/doctor was the father. That no one took the trouble to tell us, unprepared viewers, was also logical: in a small village this is usually a secret, and no one talks about in the open. The only possible clue might be the question when the uncle visits the girl when resting after the abortion: “Are you cleaned up now?”, this being not a very nice question to ask under given circumstances.
Thirdly, during the final Q&A we learned that the director had been sexually assaulted when she was young, that being all the incentives she needed to make this film. This is (again) information in hindsight that could also be told at some appropriate moment in the story. How could we know?? Maybe the opening scene with much banging on the door of the girl's room, contained a hint that the unborn child came forth out of sex abuse??
Lastly, why have all women in this film such nasty, penetrating voices??
The only moment that I could detect a spark of an interesting scene, was when some Sutra verses were read for the grandmother, and especially the explanation by the grandmother what it meant. Alas, this line of thought died immediately after. The well known Chinese bias about boys versus girls is not new, even for us living far away in Europe. This film does not add anything useful, neither an explanation nor a new insight. Also, that the story was told from the viewpoint of the pregnant girl, was no reason to setup the script as done here, and it was no novel idea either.
All in all, I could only give the lowest score for the audience award when leaving the theater. I cannot care less for film makers who withhold us viewers all the necessary information, and then flatly tell us afterwards that all the clues were obvious for anyone to see. Maybe I'm stupid, but I rather consider it an example of bad film making, only understandable for an in-crowd, which cannot be the purpose of a professional film maker.
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Webreview from JvH48 on 04 February 16:54
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Mark as improper
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Traag schrikdrama. Jong meisje ondergaat zoveel ellende. Verlating, verwaarlozing, misbruik, abortus, de stress en 'schande' van de maandelijkse periode, eenzaamheid, de "schoonmaakscene' bij de gynacoloog, het is allemaal zo schrijnend en pijnlijk, je ziet haar ook geen enkele keer (glim)lachen. Alsof niemand om haar geeft.Men prefereert zoons boven dochters. Toch is het einde niet zonder hoop. Aanrader.
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Webreview from Aruna Jagesar on 31 January 00:31
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Mark as improper
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de verstilde emoties maken deze film zeer indringend, het haast abstract vertelde verhaal trekt de kijker subtiel maar onverbiddelijk de wereld van het meisje in: 10 punten!
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Webreview from marilou on 30 January 23:35
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Mark as improper
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Ik vond het een erg mooie film! Prachtige shots! Weinig woorden, veel werd tussen de regels door duidelijk. Schrijnend verhaal. Fantastisch dat de regisseuse haar gedeeltelijk eigen verhaal op zo'n mooie manier heeft kunnen verfilmen. Voor mij een dikke 5!
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Webreview from Tam3030 on 30 January 21:36
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Mark as improper
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Mooi debuut,ben het dus absoluut niet met Maarten eens .
Bezien vanuit de Chinese cultuur en het onderwerp van de film is het alemaal prachtig gedaan zeker gezien de persoonlijke ervaringen van de filmmaakster.Het hoeft allemaal zo expliciet vertoond te worden,hoewel de opnames van de miskraam en de verdere ingreep duidelijk genoeg zijn.
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Webreview from Jaap Poot on 30 January 18:07
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Mark as improper
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Gisteren deze film gezien en totaal gedesillusioneerd de zaal verlaten. Hoe kun je een intens en gevoelig gegeven zo om zeep helpen?
Langdradig, geen greintje subtiliteit en amateuristisch uitgewerkt. Met afstand de grootste teleurstelling van het weekend.
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Webreview from maarten on 30 January 14:40
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Mark as improper
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